45 ACP

On-hand, I had five categories: brand new Starline, once-fired Remington, two flavors of “a few firings” (Winchester and Starline), and my practice brass that’s been fired and reloaded a dozen or so times.

Today - er, make that Sunday last - was “test magazines” day.

The hammer hits the firing pin and that hits the primer, but it doesn’t go bang. Removing that round and looking at its backside, the dent in the primer is smaller than it should be.

This is the last of a five part series on tolerances in reloading.

1. Tolerance in Reloading (Introduction),
2. Tolerance in Powder Throw,
3. Tolerance in COL and Crimp,
4. Tolerance in Bullet Weight, and
5. Tolerance in Brass.

Introduction

I occasionally take non-shooters to the range for their first experience with firearms. Over time, I’ve tended toward a similar sequence of presenting things but knowing the Bullseye community’s safety record, I decided to ask for their input as well. The following procedure benefits from the excellent suggestions of Fred, JC, Chuck, Sheral, Kent and George in the Bullseye-L email community, and from the shooters I meet on the line from whom I’ve learned many valuable and sometimes life-saving lessons.

The sorting of my large bucket of all 45 ACP brass according to headstamp is done.

Strike #1

After its initial firing (as factory-loaded hardball), 100% of the Aguila brass would not pass through the Martindale gauge. This suggests it has been stretched beyond its ability to recover possibly because of the thinness of the brass or its composition among other reasons.